Pillars 2 really burned him out, and Avowed is now the future of the series.
Before Baldur’s Gate 3 appeared and consumed my entire world, Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire was the CRPG I pointed to as the best example of how a modern game in this venerable genre should look. It was deeply connected to the legacy of the Infinity Engine games, but boasted a setting that allowed Obsidian to explore meatier subjects, like colonialism, while still conjuring up a riveting pirate romp. It was a delicious collision of old and new.
Unfortunately, it sold less than expected, and the whole experience seemed to leave a sour taste in game director Josh Sawyer’s mouth, leading to him experiencing burnout and bemoaning the crowdfunding model which had inspired Obsidian to take a more conservative approach to please backers.
It wasn’t until Pentiment, the historical detective romp, that Sawyer would lead a game’s development again, and while it’s a game I adore, it’s a million miles away from the RPGs that he’s best known for. Although we are getting another game in the Pillars universe, Avowed is a distinctly different kind of RPG, and one that Sawyer isn’t leading. Though he has been lending a hand, as he explained to RPG Site in a recent interview.
“I’m helping on Avowed,” he said. “I am in an advisory role still, but I did a little bit of writing on Avowed. I’ve helped out with some system design and things like that. Basically, wherever they needed help. I am doing more hands-on work there and then just thinking and talking about ideas for future projects.”
Given his influence on the series, it’s a shame to hear that Sawyer’s role in Avowed is so small. But maybe it shouldn’t be too surprising. Pillars 2’s disappointing sales really seemed to take a toll, and in a Tumblr post in 2019 he really wrestled with why it failed: a question he really didn’t have an answer for, especially since other CRPGs were still enjoying a lot of success.
Even so, the prospect of Pillars 3 keeps being raised, and Sawyer keeps talking about it. Following the incredible success of BG3, he said, “I think if it truly was an unlimited budget, I think I would try Pillars 3 because I know what the budget was for [Pillars of Eternity 2:] Deadfire, which was not a whole lot and I have heard from multiple people what the budget was for Baldur’s Gate 3, and I’m not gonna talk about numbers, but if I got that budget, sure, I’ll make Pillars 3.”
Only a year on, though, he seems to have cooled on the idea a wee bit. RPG Site asked him the same question: would he make Pillars 3 if time and budget constraints weren’t an issue?
“I don’t know,” he said. “I feel like now Avowed is where the Pillars universe has kind of gone. And it’ll be interesting to see where the audience picks up on that, and maybe that’s where the Pillars universe kind of goes in the future. So I think there’s a lot of different possibilities of what to do in the future. I do think that I am more interested in doing original IP necessarily, than existing IP. But we’ll see where the future takes me.”
As much as I loved Pillars 2, I’m not too sad about this. While Obsidian did some great stuff with the setting in the sequel, the universe it created is still very much a D&D adjacent thing, and I’m increasingly more interested in seeing RPG developers explore less obvious realms. Disco Elysium’s Revachol being the best example. I really just want another Sawyer-led RPG, in any world, and maybe that’s on the cards again.
None of this is to say that I’m not looking forward to Avowed. It seems pretty safe, but Robin’s Avowed impressions from last week really reassured me. It might not be rocking the boat, but if it’s “well-crafted and compelling” with some political volatility and choices that aren’t just empty gestures, I’ll be happy.
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